Biographical Sketch of Rev. John Brockway

Rev. John Brockway, the first Universalist preacher in Surry, settled in that town at a very early day and died there about 1810. He was the father of four sons and two daughters. John, the eldest, was an officer in the war of 1812, and died at Schenectady, N. Y. Cephas was a goldsmith and a noted dentist. Rufus was a farmer, and Calvin emigrated to Ohio, where he accumulated a large fortune. Lockhart W. Brockway, a grandson of Rev. John and son of John, was born in Surry and came to Hinsdale in 1819. He boasts the honor of being the only living person in the town who here cast a vote for General Jackson for president. When he came to the town there were only thirteen dwellings between his house and the village of Ashuelot, a distance of four miles and includes the present village of Hinsdale. He struck the first blow in the construction of the canal which conveys water to the mills in his village, and had his first railroad ride two years ago, when he went to Keene to attend a funeral. He has been a subscriber of Cheshire County Republican about fifty-five years.